


Bridge of Ivy

by Cornflower_Corvid



Series: Yurileth Week - Non AU fics [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Chapter 9: The Cause of Sorrow, Yurileth Week 2020, prompt: trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornflower_Corvid/pseuds/Cornflower_Corvid
Summary: Set right after "The Cause of Sorrow" (White Clouds: Chapter 9). Byleth is coping with loss, and Yuri wants to help him but doesn't know how. In the process, he contemplates his own relationship with trust: his given to others, other's given to him, and his in himself. Byleth helps him discover where he's lacking, and in the process, Yuri helps him grieve.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Yurileth Week - Non AU fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817728
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	Bridge of Ivy

**Author's Note:**

> Yurileth Week 2020  
> Day 3 Prompt: Trust  
> Posting out of order due to story chronology. Please read my other Yurileth Week fic, "Stars Be Our Witness", before this one if you haven't already. It is a Goddess Tower story that takes place the night of the ball, therefore literally right before this one starts.
> 
> I took way too long on this one, and I didn't even properly edit the last 2000 words or so... I hope they're fine -.-  
> I just needed to get it posted.
> 
> Please enjoy!

The rain fell as surely as Jeralt had just a few long minutes ago. Just as surely as Byleth's tears now fell upon his father's lifeless body. 

Yuri was stunned. Just a few short days ago everything seemed to be going so well. The ball was nice, though he wasn't particularly fond of gatherings himself; he knew the other Ashen Wolves had enjoyed themselves. He watched from the shadows as student after eager student danced with their favourite professor, Byleth's usual stoic expression slowly becoming faintly tired as the night went on.

They'd met at the Goddess Tower, later that night. Byleth had asked Yuri why he wasn’t at the ball, which struck Yuri as an interesting observation for Byleth to have made with unending requests for attention from admiring students. They looked at the stars for a while, and Byleth told him how Jeralt would use the constellations to guide their travels. Yuri was intrigued, and for some time they looked up at the sky, pointing out various celestial bodies and occasionally making other interesting comments.

Eventually Byleth had made a comment about how the one person he wanted to dance with wasn’t even at the ball, and with Yuri’s curiosity sparked, he made a wager with Byleth. If he won, Byleth would tell him who it was that he wanted to dance with, and if Byleth won, Yuri would help him avoid the ball for the rest of the night. Yuri ended up winning, and then Byleth revealed that it was Yuri that he had wanted to dance with.

They did end up dancing, eventually. Byleth mentioned that he might have feelings for Yuri, but he wasn’t actually confident about what they were or what they meant, and then ended up revealing a lot of odd details about himself. Apparently, emotions were actually a relatively recent development for him, which explained why he was unsure about his feelings. It sounded very strange to Yuri at first, but then he found out Byleth’s heart doesn’t even beat, and suddenly emotions being unfamiliar to him seemed much more plausible. And more plausible still when he heard Jeralt say that this – this incident, Jeralt being murdered, was the first time he’d seen Byleth cry.

Byleth was… an unusual sort of person, to say the least, and he was oddly fascinating to Yuri. Was it because he was so difficult to read at times? Was it the gentle sincerity behind that normally aloof demeanor? Or was it… was it something else? Something Yuri would rather not consider. Or possibly, it could even be some combination of his three theories. Whatever the case, Yuri didn't mind spending time with Byleth as much as he did a lot of other people. Especially other surface dwellers. 

And now everything seemed to be going to shit. 

Byleth carried Jeralt all the way back to the monastery proper by himself from the abandoned chapel. His horse was guided along by Hapi, who looked back every now and again at Byleth, clearly concerned about him. Yuri stayed in the back, near Byleth, alert in case his assistance was suddenly needed. But Byleth was steady the whole way back, quiet, like he'd never been crying in the first place. 

The days following were sombre. Weekend activities had all been cancelled, as had classes for the first couple of days the following week. Professor Manuela and Professor Hanneman took Byleth's classes for a couple days after that, until Byleth insisted that he needed a distraction anyway. Every one of those days Yuri told himself he should go up and see him, and on every single one of them he hesitated until he'd talked himself out of it. 

The first time he saw Byleth in class again after that, he seemed more like his usual self, stoic and reserved… but with an edge. Like he was forcing it now, as opposed to before where it was his default. Yuri told himself that he should wait up after class and see if Byleth wanted tea, but Lysithea had asked Byleth for help with some concepts so he stayed back after class. Eventually Yuri convinced himself that Byleth wouldn’t even want to have tea with him. There was nothing Yuri could do to help him. 

It was Sunday again before Yuri saw Byleth outside of class. He was walking by the pond to head to the marketplace when he realized Byleth was out on the dock fishing. Yuri paused, considering him for a moment, before he stepped out onto the dock himself. 

"Catch anything good?" Yuri asked, peering into the bucket beside Byleth to see if he could catch a glimpse of anything in particular. 

Byleth seemed a little surprised to see Yuri there as he looked back, and then he looked down into the bucket himself as if he couldn’t even remember what he’d caught. “Not really, just a few trout so far,” he said, his voice even.

Yuri moved closer and then stooped down to look at the fish in the bucket. “Hm, yeah, that’ll be pretty good for a few meals,” he remarked, looking up at Byleth to see if he had any response to that. 

Pulling his line back in, Byleth nodded. “Yeah, I’ll probably just give them to the dining hall staff… unless you want them?” 

“Well, I certainly won't say no to that. But maybe I’ll just bring them to the dining hall anyway, ask them to keep them on ice for me, and then I’ll cook them up later,” Yuri answered, standing and picking up the bucket by the handle. Byleth nodded as he was finishing up reeling the line back in. “I can even cook some up for you,” Yuri said trying to seem as benign as possible.

At that Byleth looked up more intently, eyes wide. “…wouldn’t you rather feed your people?” he asked, sounding unsure. 

Yuri shrugged. “There’s more than enough fish here to spare a meal for the both of us. Besides, you went through all the work of catching them in the first place. Least I can do is cook one up for you, yeah?” 

Byleth seemed to be hesitating for some reason that Yuri couldn’t discern. As the silence grew awkward he finally spoke. “I don’t want you to cook for me just because you think you owe me for the fish,” he said. He wouldn’t look Yuri in the eye as he walked past him to give the rod back to the pond attendant. 

“Well, you know how I feel about having unpaid debts,” Yuri answered, trying to be careful with his words. He felt considerably unsure which words were the right ones to say. His nervousness growing, he moved closer to the fishing station to wait for Byleth’s response. He kept his expression and posture even despite his discomfort.

With the rod returned Byleth went back to Yuri, giving him an indecipherable look, and then glanced away again. “There is no unpaid debt. I gave you the fish because I wasn’t planning on using them and…” he started, pausing for a moment as he glanced at the ground. “Just forget about it, please? You don’t owe me anything.” 

Yuri considered this for a moment, and then responded, “Ah… well, alright.” He moved towards the stairs up to the dining hall. “I was on my way to the market… you want to come with me?” 

“Oh… yeah, okay. I was… probably just going to head back to my room and… read or something. Going to the market sounds better,” he answered, nodding. “I’ll wait here for you?” 

Nodding, Yuri made his way up to the dining hall, got the fish put in cold storage, and made sure someone knew he was coming back to cook them later. As he was heading back down the stairs, he stopped, noticing that Byleth was back over on the dock, and he seemed to be looking into the water. Yuri made his way over carefully, trying to click his heels a little harder than usual against the ground so Byleth would hear him approaching. Yuri suspected he was probably lost in his own thoughts, and he could only imagine if he accidentally spooked him by coming up behind him that it wouldn’t be a fun situation for either of them. “Byleth?” Yuri called gently from the edge of the stone ground.

Byleth looked around and then turned when he saw Yuri, walking over. “Sorry, I was just watching the fish. I thought you might be a little longer,” he said, sounding embarrassed. 

Yuri nodded. “Nothing to be sorry about, friend,” he said, smiling. Byleth seemed to brighten up a little bit at that, and the walk over to the market was nice, if quiet. 

“Are you here for something specific?” Byleth asked him once they arrived. 

“Yeah, I need to pick up a sword I was having repaired. It should be done. And I need to ask Anna about something,” Yuri answered. “How about you?” 

Byleth's expression shifted quickly from pensive to one of realization, and then dejectedness. “Yeah, I probably do. I forgot I left some things with the blacksmith… before...” he said, nodding and closing his eyes.

Yuri watched him carefully, and then patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go to the blacksmith first then,” he suggested.

Byleth nodded in agreement and Yuri led the way over. They picked up their items and then visited other shops in the market, making sure they got everything they needed. Byleth seemed to be cheering up a bit, which Yuri was happy to see - until he recognized what _sort_ of happiness was stirring in him.

He struggled to stick to his usual game when he was around Byleth. It had happened the night they met at the Goddess Tower too. It was like some part of him thought Byleth was safe, even when the majority of his existence screamed that no one was ever safe to trust.

Maybe part of the problem was that he didn't trust himself. 

It wasn't like he was a sparrow that had fallen from the nest and lost faith in their own wings - no, he didn't trust his own heart. His own emotions. That fatal organ could be a person's downfall if they let it drag them down.

After some time, they finished up at the market, Byleth with his weapons and a few other things he had picked up, and Yuri with his sword and the information he needed. As they headed back towards the area of the dorms and Abyss, Yuri noticed that Byleth's demeanor slowly shifted back to its previous melancholic state. 

"You sure you wouldn't want to have dinner with me?" Yuri asked, and then became very uncomfortable as he realized exactly how he had worded that.

Byleth glanced at him briefly, pursing his lips, and then looked back down at the ground. "I never said I didn't want to have dinner with you. I said that you don't owe me anything," he answered flatly.

Yuri felt a chill run through him. “Okay… so if I agree that I don’t owe you anything, and that you gave me the fish out of the kindness of your heart, then I can make dinner for you out of the kindness of my heart?” he asked carefully, feeling very unsure.

Byleth looked back at Yuri, his face still passive. “As long as it seems like you mean it, sure. I would feel okay with accepting your kindness. But I don’t like the idea that I can’t do something for you without you thinking you owe me something.”

A feeling inside Yuri stirred. The idea of receiving favours and not being expected to do something in return felt too… foreign. It felt too much like a relationship, where people genuinely cared about each other and made each other feel good for no other reason than because it made them feel good as well. “I’m… not used to something like that…” he finally replied after a pause, his voice quiet.

They were just passing the pond near the greenhouse now, and for some reason Byleth detoured into the large open area where students would sometimes gather to chat. He stopped by the wall, and Yuri followed, confused but curious. Byleth’s eyes met his. “What do you mean?” he asked. There was an odd look on his face, like a mixture of confusion and concern blanketed over by something Yuri couldn't identify.

“I mean exactly what I said,” Yuri answered, looking away. “I don’t like owing people… but I also don’t like it when someone does something for me because they _say_ they want to. People lie.”

Byleth was clearly taken aback by his answer, and his confusion and curiosity were quickly giving way to a variety of other emotions that Yuri was unable to decipher. “That’s… I don’t like not being able to do nice things for you just because I want to. _I’m_ not lying. I don’t understand why you would think I could be.” He paused for a moment, and then added, “Have I ever lied to you?” The pain on his face as he asked that question was palpable, and it made those feelings inside Yuri shift uneasily.

Yuri shook his head quickly. “No, of course you haven’t. And logically speaking, I don’t think you would. Not only do you have no reason to, that I know of, I’m not even sure you would make a very good liar.”

Relief cleared Byleth’s face, though he still looked stressed. “That’s true. Ever since I started feeling things… I haven’t been able to keep my emotions off my face. I’ve been trying, lately, but… I know I haven’t been very successful,” Byleth responded, looking away uncomfortably. “But… you said ‘logically speaking’. Is something illogical telling you I could be lying?”

For a moment, Yuri didn’t answer. _He_ wasn’t even sure he knew the answer. But it felt like it was true. He sighed as the feeling of being at an impasse washed over him; he could be honest here and give Byleth more information than he would ever normally trust anyone with, or he could continue deny the truth. Was it worth it to continue this charade, never open up to anyone, not even this person who genuinely seemed like they could be trusted?

“Can we go somewhere else and talk about this?” Yuri asked carefully. Byleth looked back up as he was speaking, and Yuri studied his face warily for any sign of a reaction.

After a moment, Byleth nodded. “Is my room good?” he asked, sounding hesitant.

Yuri nodded. “It works.”

As they made their way over to Byleth’s room, which was where they had been heading in the first place, Yuri felt himself grow uneasy. Was he really going to go through with this? Put his cards on the table, let somebody see even part of the hand he was playing with? Anxiety rose in him like a dreadful chill, and by the time they got to their destination, Yuri had nearly convinced himself not to do it. He almost told Byleth to forget about the whole thing, that it was better if he didn’t associate with someone like him. He almost turned around and just cleared the rest of the distance to the entrance of Abyss, because he couldn’t stand the thought of trying to put his trust in this person.

Instead, he followed Byleth into the small dorm room, and stood at the entryway as Byleth excused his mess and organized a few things, removing his jacket and some armour in the process. He pulled out the chair at the desk and looked at Yuri expectantly.

“Oh, guess I should sit down, yeah?” he inferred, chuckling. He heard his own nerves leak into his laugh, and he lamented his inability to open up about himself without turning into an anxious mess.

Byleth seemed to sense his uneasiness. “Whatever makes you more comfortable,” he asserted, moving towards his bed to sit. “I thought you would rather sit there than here.”

Yuri nodded. “That’s… considerate of you,” he said, finally sitting in the chair.

There was a moment of silence where Yuri figured Byleth was expecting him to say something, but he couldn’t even begin to figure out where to start and how much to tell.

“What did you want to talk about?” Byleth asked, looking at Yuri questioningly. Yuri sighed, letting his usual composure drain from his body, leaving behind his exhaustion and constant stress.

Yuri buried his face in his hands, rubbing at his eyes, before he answered. “I couldn’t give you a truthful answer out in the open like that. It’s already hard enough being around you in public, with your strange ability to be so sincere that… that my true feelings start to slip through the mask I constantly wear,” he answered, closing his eyes. He really was so exhausted and letting himself actually feel it was so disconcerting.

“What? What do you mean?” Byleth asked, seeming alarmed. “Are you okay?”

Opening his eyes again, Yuri nodded. “I’m fine, just a lot more tired than I usually let on,” he explained.

Worry on his face, Byleth looked for a moment as if he were going to reach out, but he stopped short. “Than you usually let on?” he questioned.

Yuri nodded. “Yeah. It would be a sign of weakness to let it show in public. I can’t afford to look weak,” he replied, his tone sullen.

Byleth slowly frowned, nodding his head a bit. “It’s okay to be tired. Why would anyone see that as a weakness?”

“It might be acceptable on the surface, but in the underworld, if someone lets on that they have any sort of vulnerability, someone else will find a way to take advantage of it. Honestly, I’m sure people up here do it too. People who want power will look for any way to get it,” Yuri explained. “I won’t deny that I’ve done it. Exploiting other people’s weaknesses is a specialty of mine.” He was still unsettled about revealing anything to Byleth, but some other feeling was awakening inside him, challenging his prevailing mindset. It questioned how much longer he would be able to continue on as he was, with no one he could trust when everything was becoming too much for him. With no one to turn to when he needed relief.

“Okay… I hate to admit it, but that does make sense,” Byleth agreed, nodding. “Is this… related to why you feel like you have to owe people things if they do something for you?”

“It is. Emotions are an exploitable weakness too, after all,” Yuri replied with a nod.

Byleth seemed to think that over, and after a short time he nodded slowly. “Okay, I can see that. And… to want someone else to be happy could be seen as a weakness. If you only live for yourself… that doesn’t make it easier to manipulate you.”

Yuri nodded again. “So… that’s how I live. I don’t let anyone see how exhausted I am, and I don’t let anyone do nice things for me, and I don’t do nice things for other people. At least, not people who are in a position where they could use it against me. I’m not going to let those ideals affect the way I treat disadvantaged people and orphans. They need kindness,” he clarified. “Maybe if I had been given more kindness when I was a child, I wouldn’t have become this way.” His tone was quiet and reflected echoes of burdens from over a decade ago.

“You… weren’t treated well as a child?” Byleth asked carefully.

With his discomfort rising as the conversation turned to some of his worst years, Yuri paused before explaining. He let his eyes fall closed, thinking of times past, when the world was almost consistently cruel to his mother, and in turn, him. “I grew up living in poverty in western Faerghus. Very few people treat the poor well,” was the only explanation he gave, his voice even.

Byleth nodded. “I got that impression before, that you grew up poor. I guess my confusion… it must just be that I find it hard to find any reason to be cruel to people,” he said. “I know I kill people all the time, and I kill a lot of people, but… that’s not the same. The people I’m killing are there to kill me, or you, or someone else I care about. And I never mean anything by it.”

“You’re right. That’s not cruelty. You’re doing what you’ve been told to do,” Yuri said, nodding in agreement. “You… you’re not a cruel person. I’ve never seen any reason to think you are.”

“But you said before that, logically speaking, you don’t think I would lie. Which implies that there’s some illogical thoughts that you have that do make you think I would lie. I don’t understand what those could be,” Byleth asked, looking uncomfortable.

Sighing, Yuri looked away for a moment, going over the roiling clash of thoughts in his mind. “I guess… there’s just a part of my head that can’t imagine that no one lies.”

“Oh… I guess… that’s not as bad as what I was thinking. I… wondered if I had done something-”

Yuri shook his head vehemently. “No. You’ve never done anything wrong. You’ve never given me a reason not to trust you, I just-” He froze as he realized what he’d just admitted. 

Starting to look a bit worried again, Byleth tried to lock eyes with Yuri. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I just… I think I… I do trust you,” Yuri replied, still shook. “I already trust you. Then why…”

Byleth looked at Yuri curiously. “I don’t understand… If you trust me, then…” he tried, trailing off.

Yuri stood suddenly, unable to just stay still despite how worn out he was. “I don’t trust… myself,” he replied, his voice solemn.

“…Huh?” Byleth queried, looking bewildered.

“I trust you already. Some part of me has known that this whole time,” Yuri explained. “But I didn’t want to see the truth, so I generally ignored it. But I’m not afraid of you hurting me if I let you past my glamour and my lies… I’m afraid that I’ll hurt you. I’m afraid that you’ll realize my whole life is one big lie, and you won’t want to…” Yuri abruptly paused, closing his eyes against the way he could imagine Byleth’s face contorting with silent rage.

“Want to what?” Byleth asked. He almost stood, but Yuri gave a small shake of his head and Byleth sat back down. 

Yuri leaned against the wall, fatigue slipping into his voice as he spoke. “You won’t want to stay. With me,” he answered, eyes still closed.

“Oh…” Byleth said simply. “I… if you want. I think it would be worth trying. I know I don’t know everything about you… but I don’t think I could ever decide that your life is anything remotely like one big lie. Your dream, and the things you’ve accomplished… they’re admirable and they’re the truth of your life.”

Yuri let his eyes open again, surprised by what Byleth was saying. “But how can you say that? You just said yourself that you don’t know everything about me…”

Byleth nodded. “Yeah, but that’s okay. Some people might not like the things you do or the way you go about them, but you’re not living a lie. Far from it. You’re living your own truth. You have a dream, and you’re trying to make it real. That’s admirable. I’m sure lots of people go their whole lives not knowing what it’s like to have a dream and the drive to make it real, like you do.”

Surprised, Yuri made his way back over to the desk chair as he thought over what Byleth was saying. It… sounded right. And why would Byleth lie? Why would Byleth say things like this without meaning them? He wasn’t that sort of person. Yuri stared at Byleth with wide eyes as he thought over what he had said. He wanted to try to say something, but his mouth sort of hung open uselessly.

“Do you… want to come over here…?” Byleth asked carefully. 

At first Yuri was hesitant – this one action could change so many things – but he’d already gone this far. He’d already decided to come to Byleth’s room to attempt to explain himself, and he’d already given him so many details. Things he would never tell other people. After a long pause he stood and crossed the room, sitting next to Byleth. He waited a moment before looking up at him, very aware of Byleth’s eyes already on _him_. When their eyes met, Yuri was embarrassed to find that he was blushing like a schoolgirl, and he felt something flutter in his chest. He wondered if Byleth was feeling the same way.

Byleth moved a little closer, hesitantly turning towards Yuri. “Do you… want a hug?” he asked, his voice quiet and careful. 

Yuri felt his face heat up even more. “Uh… well… I…” he tried, ultimately shaking his head in embarrassment. “Yeah… I think that would be nice.” He ended up wrapping his arms around Byleth, and he immediately did the same. Yuri relaxed into his hold, leaning his head against his shoulder. 

“I trust you too, you know?” Byleth affirmed. “I think you should give yourself a chance. If you trust me, and I trust you, then you can’t really be untrustworthy, can you?”

Sighing, Yuri buried his face in Byleth’s shoulder. “It’s the same as before though. That makes sense logically, but… I guess I’m just paranoid.”

Byleth gave a small shrug. “That seems a bit extreme, doesn’t it?”

Yuri shook his head. “It makes sense to me. My fears aren’t logical.”

“I guess that’s a good point,” Byleth said. “Are you feeling any better?”

“…for now, I think so,” Yuri replied wearily. “Would you be okay holding off on the fish until tomorrow? I’m a lot more tired than I thought.”

“Of course. We should let the dining hall know though,” Byleth answered. 

Yuri nodded in agreement. “I can even make sure we end up with a nice place to eat… I mean, if you… Do you want it to be like… a date?”

Byleth didn’t give an answer for a few more moments, seemingly considering it. “If you want to, then yeah, sure.”

“Alright then. Meet me tomorrow at the dining hall at 6 PM. I'll figure something out," Yuri replied. "Are you hungry now?"

"I could eat. Are you?" Byleth hugged him a little more tightly then, and something about the way it felt made Yuri's nerves fray. It was as if, now that he had found, against all odds, someone he could feel comfortable enough around to let his true self show, all of the feelings he'd worked so hard to repress for so many years were all flooding him at once.

For a moment, he couldn't even answer Byleth, he was trying so hard to stop his burgeoning emotions from showing through all at once. Byleth must have seen it on his face, and he asked, "Are you okay?"

Yuri nodded, but then he felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Byleth's hand moved up to his face, and he gently swiped one away with his thumb. The gesture hit Yuri in a way he had never known - someone other than his mother treating him with that level of kindness? That much care? His throat tight, Yuri let his eyes fall closed as more tears slowly gathered at the corners; the feeling of Byleth's hand running over his hair quickly had them running down his face.

"What's wrong?" Byleth asked, sounding startled. Yuri just shook his head again, trying to tell him that nothing was wrong. His mouth just wouldn't form the words. He felt Byleth pull him closer, hugging him tightly now and rubbing his back. 

For a few moments they stayed like that, Yuri sobbing into Byleth's neck as he tried to comfort him. Something subtle changed after a couple minutes; Byleth's hand on his back moved more slowly, and it felt like he was shaking slightly. Yuri pulled away and opened his eyes to see that tears were now dripping down Byleth's face too. 

Finally, Yuri's mouth decided to work again. "Are you okay?" he asked, immediately realizing that of course he wasn't okay. His father had died a little over a week ago, and here Yuri was crying on his when _he_ was the one who needed comforting.

Byleth nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before he looked back up. "I'm sorry, I just… seeing you so… overcome with emotions, it reminded me of…" he explained, trailing off, but it was obvious enough what he meant. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be adding my problems to yours. You… had something traumatic happen. I should be trying to comfort you," Yuri replied, fresh tears falling down his face when he realized what an idiot he was being.

Byleth seemed to disagree. "No, no, don't say that. There’s no need to compare our circumstances. Nothing makes the trauma that either of us bear more or less valid," he objected. "It's nice to just… hold and be held."

That shocked Yuri out of his own spiralling thoughts for a moment. To… hold and be held? That was right, wasn't it? It was possible to be comforted while comforting someone else. To be comforted by the act of comforting someone else. “You’re right… I’m sorry,” he said. Byleth _was_ right. 

“You don’t need to apologize. Just… we can… we can remember that we have each other now, right?” Byleth asked, lifting his tear stained face to look at Yuri.

A strange feeling came over Yuri, and at first he hesitated to agree. But he realized it was true. It sort of always had been, Yuri just needed to figure out how to trust himself. And maybe he could now. At least, when it came to Byleth, he was certainly going to put in the effort. “Yes, we do,” he said finally, breaking into erratic sobbing.

Byleth started slowly rubbing his back again, and Yuri returned the favour. He heard Byleth let out a little sob, and he looked up again, wondering if he’d done something wrong. Byleth must have seen the concern on his face because he shook his head. “I didn’t expect you to do that,” he explained. “I was just surprised.”

Yuri leaned his forehead against Byleth’s, their noses almost touching. “You’re doing it, and it feels good, so I figured…” he said, his face flushing red again.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Byleth affirmed, nodding. 

They stayed like that for some time, just taking in each other’s presence, trying to calm back down. Yuri eventually shifted to rest his head back on Byleth’s shoulder. “I’m going to fall asleep if you keep rubbing my back like that,” he muttered, and Byleth stilled, just holding him instead. Yuri kept his hand moving though – Byleth was having a bit of trouble calming himself down.

“I keep going over it, again and again, in my head, and it doesn’t make any sense. Why did they kill him…” he questioned, a new stream of tears washing down his face. He sobbed into Yuri’s shoulder, and Yuri felt those emotions from the day it had happened rise up in him again; anger, frustration, and sadness all rolled up into one big lump of feelings that he had pushed away at the time. Now he let them flow through him as he ran his hand slowly up and down Byleth’s back.

“I’ve been wondering if they were after you,” Yuri said. “Unfortunately, it makes sense that they would try to destabilize you by killing someone close to you. There’s really no reason to kill Jeralt himself, just for the sake of it, but you… you’ve been an obstacle for them. First you figured out that their target wasn’t Rhea that day, but rather the Holy Tomb. Then you apparently took what they wanted from there. And then there was that business with them kidnapping Flayn for her blood, and then Remire.” 

Byleth was listening to him intently, and he nodded when Yuri finished talking. He’d also seemed to have calmed down a bit as Yuri went through the list of reasons that strange faction would want to target Byleth. A small grin grew on his face, giving Yuri a bit of a surprise. “Your makeup is kind of messed up,” he said, apparently amused.

Yuri frowned. “Yeah, of course it is. I’m going to have to go fix it before we get food.”

Nodding, Byleth pulled away a bit, visibly less upset. “I’m pretty hungry now,” he started, looking away awkwardly. “Is this a date too?”

“Oh… yeah, I guess it is,” Yuri replied. “Unless you don’t want it to be?”

Byleth shook his head. “No, I do. Of course I do. Remember… I was the one who had wanted to dance with you at the ball. I was the one who said they might have feelings…”

Yuri nodded. “I can’t say I wasn’t in the same situation. I just worked hard to hide it from myself,” he explained. Now it was his turn to look away awkwardly.

“What?” Byleth questioned, surprise in his voice.

“Yeah… I’ve… suspected it for a while now. I’ve just been ignoring it. You know… because of what I explained before,” Yuri responded, letting himself look back at Byleth, unsure of what he should be expecting to see on Byleth’s face. He was relieved to see a gentle smile.

“Then I guess it’s a date,” Byleth declared, clearly pleased. After a moment though, a look of curiosity mixed into his happiness. “So… are we… in a relationship?” he asked, sounding concerned.

Yuri stiffened a bit, and Byleth must have noticed because he started rubbing his back again. “I guess so? If that’s what you want…” he carefully answered.

“Of course it is,” Byleth affirmed, smiling again, though that concern was still there. “Are you okay with that?”

Nodding, Yuri glanced briefly down at the bed. “Yeah. It is,” he responded. “I’ve… never been in a relationship like this before, but spending so much time with you has reminded me that it would be nice to have someone I can trust. In a different way than Balthus, Hapi, and Constance. I can never really be sure that they won’t find a reason to turn on me one day. I don’t think they will, but… in the end they all have goals that are different from mine.”

Byleth nodded slowly as he took in everything Yuri was saying. “Why am I different?” he asked, looking mystified.

“Well… your main motivation seems to align better with mine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but… you really just seem like you want to help people,” Yuri explained, hoping he wasn’t completely off base. He was usually confident in his assessments of people’s characters, but once in a while someone surprised him, and Byleth was a strange case in the first place.

For a moment Byleth seemed to be considering Yuri’s words, and then he nodded. “That sounds right,” he agreed.

“Since your motivations are similar to mine, and I feel that I can trust you… it makes it harder to imagine you betraying me one day,” Yuri added, feeling a bit more confident now.

Oddly enough, Byleth smiled at him. “This is an interesting conversation to have while we figure out if we’re in a relationship or not,” he pointed out, chuckling. “Ah, but I guess I should specify that I’ve never been in a relationship either. That might have been obvious though.”

Yuri shrugged. “I guessed as much.” Byleth blushed at that response, and Yuri chuckled, adding, “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Byleth just turned even more red and looked away. “I… was thinking that… if neither of us have been in a relationship, then how are we going to figure things out?” he wondered, frowning as he gestured vaguely.

“Well… I… might know a few things,” Yuri responded, looking away sheepishly. 

At that, Byleth perked up a bit. “Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“Nonsense. There’s no need to apologize,” Yuri replied. “I was purposely vague when I said I hadn’t been in a relationship like this before. I’ve… had relations, though. That’s different,” he added, looking away in embarrassment.

For a moment Byleth seemed confused. “Relations…?”

Now Yuri’s face flushed completely red. “Yes… you know…” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely. There was no way he was going to specify further if Byleth didn’t get it.

“Relations…” Byleth repeated, apparently still trying to piece the meaning together. Abruptly his eyes went wide. “I think I’ve heard Sylvain use that term before…”

Yuri felt his skin heat up even more, and he closed his eyes, frowning. “He’s absolutely not my type,” he supplied, shaking his head. 

Byleth nodded. “Well, Sylvain aside… that’s good. That means between the two of us, we’re not completely lost,” he declared, grinning.

“Oh, yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it,” Yuri said. He looked away again, sighing. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’d see it in a positive light. I’m sure a lot of people would call me ‘dirty’ if they knew.”

Abruptly there were fingers on Yuri’s chin, coaxing him into looking back up. Byleth smiled at him when he finally gave in. “But as you’ve already pointed out, they’re not me. Don’t worry about what they think.”

Yuri nodded. “Yeah… you’re right. Thanks,” he responded, mustering up the best smile he could. “So I’m getting pretty hungry now… did you want to try to find somewhere quiet to sit in the dining hall? We can keep talking there. Though I might be less forthcoming with what I reveal if we’re in public.”

“That makes sense,” Byleth said, nodding in agreement. “Before we go though… uh… so I guess you know how to kiss then… right?”

Yuri was completely taken aback by the question. “Yeah… of course…” he replied, and then realized that Byleth must not know how. “It’s not hard, you just sort of lean in, and uh-”

Byleth suddenly put his hands on either side of Yuri’s face. “How about you show me instead of explaining it?” he suggested, quickly adding, “If you want to.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I can do that…” Yuri replied. His blush hadn’t quite cleared up but now it returned in full force, and he looked away slightly before taking a few deep breaths. He told himself that it was just a kiss, there was nothing to be afraid of, everything would be alright. But what if Byleth didn’t like it? He promptly pushed down that negative voice in his mind and then pushed Byleth’s hands away from his face so he could move closer. He brought one arm down under Byleth’s and then up his back, hand in his hair, and angled his head forward a bit so Yuri could reach more easily. Licking his own parted lips, he locked his eyes to Byleth, and after tilting his head up and to the side slightly, Yuri pressed his lips to Byleth’s. After a moment or so he backed off, noticing that Byleth’s eyes had gone wide; something strange twinkled in them. 

Then he was being pushed back, Byleth’s hand snaking up to the back of his head. Byleth kissed him much harder, and Yuri let his eyes slip closed as he parted his lips a bit more. Byleth didn’t seem to figure it out immediately, but once he did, he had pushed Yuri back onto the bed as he thoroughly claimed his mouth.

Yuri was breathless by the time Byleth pulled away and judging by how hot and heavy Byleth’s breathing was, he was in the same situation. “Goddess… that’s… so good,” Byleth stuttered out, sounding surprised.

Nodding in agreement, Yuri opened his eyes slightly, still winded. Byleth suddenly seemed to realize how they were positioned, and he sat back up, his face flushed. Yuri chuckled lightly and pushed himself up on his elbows, very aware of how smudged his lip gloss must be based on how intently Byleth was staring at him. “See something you like?”

“Yes,” Byleth answered promptly, completely deadpan. Not having anticipated that answer, Yuri looked away quickly, knowing a considerable flush was painting itself across his face. 

“Well… uh, if you don’t have any further objections… maybe we should go eat?” Yuri suggested, looking back even though his embarrassment was still evident.

Byleth nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that,” he agreed, moving off of the bed. He held out a hand to help Yuri up, which he accepted, and Yuri watched him put his jacket back on. “You have to go down to Abyss first though, right? To fix your makeup?”

“Right, yes, thanks for reminding me,” Yuri said, moving towards the door. Just before he pulled it open, he looked back to Byleth, his expression fond. “Thank you… for trusting me. And for helping me figure out how to at least start trusting myself,” he added, his tone reserved. “And I’m sorry I didn’t come see you sooner. I kept meaning to, but… I slowly convinced myself it was better to just leave you alone.”

A sad frown on his face, Byleth moved in close to Yuri, taking his hand away from the doorknob and holding it in his. “You’re more than welcome. It’s been apparent to me since I met you that you and I share some similar morals. I knew as long as I never gave you any reason to go against me, I would always be able to trust you,” he affirmed, his melancholic expression slowly shifting to a familiar smile. “And don’t worry about not coming to see me. I would have appreciated it, so I don’t want you to think that it was best for you to stay away, but I also don’t want you to feel bad, because it wasn’t necessary. You’ve had your own stuff to deal with.”

Yuri nodded in silent agreement, and Byleth let go of his hand so he could open the door. As they walked down to Abyss together, Yuri contemplated this new decision he’d made, this new connection he’d somehow formed. It was odd to simultaneously feel happiness and dread about anything, but this one thing, forming a relationship like this, one built on mutual trust and communication… and kindness; if anything was going to shake him to the very core, it would be that.

**Author's Note:**

> I will hopefully be posting my Day 5 fic later today. Chronologically it follows after this one, but is set post time-skip.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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